Gonadotrope or null cell pituitary tumors present clinically with signs of hypogonadism and hypopituitarism, together with visual disturbances due to mass effects. Since there are no medical therapies, surgery and/or radiation are the only therapeutic options. To identify dysregulated genes and/or pathways that may play a role in tumorigenesis and/ or progression, molecular profiling was performed on 14 gonadotrope tumors and 9 normal human pituitaries from autopsy samples. Principle component analysis (PCA) revealed clear discrimination between tumor and normal pituitary gene expression profiles. Bioinformatic analysis identified specific genes and pathways that were highly differentially regulated, including a cohort of putative downstream effectors of p53 were repressed in gonadotrope pituitary tumors, including GADD45, GADD45 and Reprimo with concomitant downregulation of the upstream regulator, PLAGL1. PLAGL1 reexpression in gonadotrope cells did not directly modulate the downstream targets. Further functional analysis of GADD45 was performed. Overexpression of GADD45 in mouse gonadotrope cells blocked proliferation, increased rates of apoptosis in response to growth factor withdrawal and increased colony formation in soft agar. In contrast to prior studies with GADD45, methylation interference assays showed no evidence of epigenetic modification of the GADD45 promoter in pituitary tumors. Thus, our data suggest that many components downstream of p53 are suppressed in gonadotrope pituitary tumors. A novel candidate, GADD45 is low in tumors and reexpression blocks proliferation, survival and tumorigenesis in gonadotrope cells. Unlike GADD45, GADD45 is not methylated to block its expression. Together these studies identify new targets and mechanisms to explore concerning pituitary tumor initiation and progression.
Identification of growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible gene beta (GADD45beta) as a novel tumor suppressor in pituitary gonadotrope tumors.
Sex
View SamplesCongenital glioblastoma multiforme (cGBM) historically has been considered an aggressive tumor of infancy requiring extensive chemotherapy to achieve cure. We report on 4 patients at our institution with cGBMs who were treated with surgery and chemotherapy (carboplatin and etoposide every 21 days for 2-6 cycles). Four of four patients are progression free at a median time of 27.5 months (22-103 months). To characterize the molecular biology of cGBM, we compared the gene expression profiles of 3 cGBMs to 12 pediatric and 6 primary adult glioblastomas collected at our institution. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering showed cGBMs grouped together with other high-grade gliomas. cGBMs demonstrated marked similarity to both pediatric and adult GBMs, with only a total of 31 differentially expressed genes identified (FDR < 0.05). Unique molecular features of congenital GBMs identified included over-expression of multiple genes involved in glucose metabolism and tissue hypoxia pathways. Four tyrosine kinases were also mong the up-regulated genes (RET, RASGRF2, EFNA5, ALK). Thus, at our institution congenital GBMs, while similar both histologically and molecularly to other GBMs, appear to have a good prognosis with surgery in combination with relatively moderate chemotherapy. Further study is needed to determine if the few gene expression differences that were identified may contribute to the better survival seen in these tumors compared to pediatric or adult GBMs.
Clinical and molecular characteristics of congenital glioblastoma.
Sex, Disease, Disease stage
View SamplesEpendymoma, the 3rd most common brain tumor in children, recurs in approximately 50% of patients. There is currently no robust marker that predicts for recurrence, which is a significant clinical problem
Immune gene and cell enrichment is associated with a good prognosis in ependymoma.
Specimen part
View SamplesRhabdoid tumors (RTs) are aggressive tumors of early childhood that occur most often in brain (AT/RTs) or kidney (KRTs). Regardless of location, they are characterized by loss of functional SMARCB1 protein, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. The aim of this study was to determine genes and biological process dysregulated in common to both AT/RTs and KRTs. Gene expression for AT/RTs was compared to that of other brain tumors and normal brain using microarray data from our lab. Similar analysis was performed for KRTs and other kidney tumors and normal kidney using data from GEO. Dysregulated genes common to both analyses were analyzed for functional significance. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of RTs identified 3 major subsets: 2 comprised of AT/RTs, and 1 of KRTs. Compared to other tumors, 1187, 663 and 539 genes were dysregulated in each subset, respectively. Only 14 dysregulated genes were common to all 3 subsets. Compared to normal tissue, 5209, 4275 and 2841 genes were dysregulated in each subset, with an overlap of 610 dysregulated genes. Among these genes, processes associated with cell proliferation, MYC activation, and epigenetic dysregulation were common to all 3 RT subsets. The low overlap of dysregulated genes in AT/RTs and KRTs suggests that factors in addition to SMARCB1 loss play a role in determining subsequent gene expression. Drugs which target cell cycle or epigenetic genes may be useful in all RTs. Additionally, targeted therapies tailored to specific RT subset molecular profiles should be considered.
Pediatric rhabdoid tumors of kidney and brain show many differences in gene expression but share dysregulation of cell cycle and epigenetic effector genes.
Specimen part
View SamplesSurvival in the majority of high grade astrocytoma (HGA) patients is very poor, with only a rare population of long-term survivors. A better understanding of the biological factors associated with long-term survival in HGA would aid development of more effective therapy and prognostication.
Increased immune gene expression and immune cell infiltration in high-grade astrocytoma distinguish long-term from short-term survivors.
Specimen part
View SamplesMolecular profiling of tumors has proven a valuable tool for identification of prognostic and diagnostic subgroups in medulloblastomas, glioblastomas and other cancers. However, the molecular landscape of atypical teratoid / rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs) remains largely unexplored. To address this issue, we used microarrays to measure the gene expression profiles of 18 AT/RTs, and performed unsupervised hierarchical clustering to determine molecularly similar subgroups. Four major subgroups (clusters) were identified. These did not conform to gender, tumor location, or presence of monosomy 22. Clusters showed distinct gene signatures and differences in enriched biological processes, including elevated expression of choroid plexus genes in Cluster 4. In addition, survival differed significantly by cluster, with shortest survival (mean 4.7 months) in both Clusters 3 and 4 compared to Clusters 1 and 2 (mean 28.1 months). Analysis showed that multiple bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) pathway genes were up-regulated in the short survival clusters, with BMP4 showing the most significant up-regulation (270-fold). Thus, high expression of BMP pathway genes was negatively associated with survival in this dataset. Our study indicates that molecular subgroups exist within AT/RTs, and that molecular profiling of these comparatively rare tumors may be of diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic value.
High expression of BMP pathway genes distinguishes a subset of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors associated with shorter survival.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesDeficiency of the human short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) has been identified in several disorders characterized by reduced height and skeletal anomalies such as Turner, Leri-Weill and Langer syndrome as well as idiopathic short stature. Although highly conserved in vertebrates, rodents lack a SHOX orthologue.
Identification of novel SHOX target genes in the developing limb using a transgenic mouse model.
Specimen part
View SamplesCRISPR/Cas9-mediated Rgnef knockout was performed in the aggressive ID8-IPs (alternaate name is KMF cells). Gene expression profiles of Rgnef-/- or Rgnef-/- cells re-expressing GFP-Rgnef were generated. Differential downregulation of antioxidant genes was observed in Rgnef-/- cells. Results provide insight into the role of Rgnef in promoting ovarian tumor progression. Overall design: mRNA profiles of ID8-KMF Rgnef-/- or Rgnef-/- cell re-expressing GFP-Rgnef were generated in triplicate using an Illumina HiSeq 4000.
Rgnef promotes ovarian tumor progression and confers protection from oxidative stress.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View SamplesIdentification of genetic/cytogenetic alterations and differentially expressed cellular genes in HPV16 E6, E7 and E6/E7 positive human foreskin keratinocytes
Complementation of non-tumorigenicity of HPV18-positive cervical carcinoma cells involves differential mRNA expression of cellular genes including potential tumor suppressor genes on chromosome 11q13.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesIdentification of genes differentially expressed in tumorigenic compared to non-tumorigenic, HPV18 positive cells
Complementation of non-tumorigenicity of HPV18-positive cervical carcinoma cells involves differential mRNA expression of cellular genes including potential tumor suppressor genes on chromosome 11q13.
No sample metadata fields
View Samples